| New King James Version | NET Bible |
| 1Now the word of the LORD came to Jonah the son of Amittai, saying, | 1The LORD said to Jonah son of Amittai, |
| 2“Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry out against it; for their wickedness has come up before Me.” | 2"Go immediately to Nineveh, that large capital city, and announce judgment against its people because their wickedness has come to my attention." |
| 3But Jonah arose to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the LORD. He went down to Joppa, and found a ship going to Tarshish; so he paid the fare, and went down into it, to go with them to Tarshish from the presence of the LORD. | 3Instead, Jonah immediately headed off to Tarshish to escape from the commission of the LORD. He traveled to Joppa and found a merchant ship heading to Tarshish. So he paid the fare and went aboard it to go with them to Tarshish far away from the LORD. |
| 4But the LORD sent out a great wind on the sea, and there was a mighty tempest on the sea, so that the ship was about to be broken up. | 4But the LORD hurled a powerful wind on the sea. Such a violent tempest arose on the sea that the ship threatened to break up! |
| 5Then the mariners were afraid; and every man cried out to his god, and threw the cargo that was in the ship into the sea, to lighten the load. But Jonah had gone down into the lowest parts of the ship, had lain down, and was fast asleep. | 5The sailors were so afraid that each cried out to his own god and they flung the ship's cargo overboard to make the ship lighter. Jonah, meanwhile, had gone down into the hold below deck, had lain down, and was sound asleep. |
| 6So the captain came to him, and said to him, “What do you mean, sleeper? Arise, call on your God; perhaps your God will consider us, so that we may not perish.” | 6The ship's captain approached him and said, "What are you doing asleep? Get up! Cry out to your god! Perhaps your god might take notice of us so that we might not die!" |
| 7And they said to one another, “Come, let us cast lots, that we may know for whose cause this trouble has come upon us.” So they cast lots, and the lot fell on Jonah. | 7The sailors said to one another, "Come on, let's cast lots to find out whose fault it is that this disaster has overtaken us." So they cast lots, and Jonah was singled out. |
| 8Then they said to him, “Please tell us! For whose cause is this trouble upon us? What is your occupation? And where do you come from? What is your country? And of what people are you?” | 8They said to him, "Tell us, whose fault is it that this disaster has overtaken us? What's your occupation? Where do you come from? What's your country? And who are your people?" |
| 9So he said to them, “I am a Hebrew; and I fear the LORD, the God of heaven, who made the sea and the dry land.” | 9He said to them, "I am a Hebrew! And I worship the LORD, the God of heaven, who made the sea and the dry land." |
| 10Then the men were exceedingly afraid, and said to him, “Why have you done this?” For the men knew that he fled from the presence of the LORD, because he had told them. | 10Hearing this, the men became even more afraid and said to him, "What have you done?" (The men said this because they knew that he was trying to escape from the LORD, because he had previously told them.) |
| 11Then they said to him, “What shall we do to you that the sea may be calm for us?”—for the sea was growing more tempestuous. | 11Because the storm was growing worse and worse, they said to him, "What should we do to you to make the sea calm down for us?" |
| 12And he said to them, “Pick me up and throw me into the sea; then the sea will become calm for you. For I know that this great tempest is because of me.” | 12He said to them, "Pick me up and throw me into the sea to make the sea quiet down, because I know it's my fault you are in this severe storm." |
| 13Nevertheless the men rowed hard to return to land, but they could not, for the sea continued to grow more tempestuous against them. | 13Instead, they tried to row back to land, but they were not able to do so because the storm kept growing worse and worse. |
| 14Therefore they cried out to the LORD and said, “We pray, O LORD, please do not let us perish for this man’s life, and do not charge us with innocent blood; for You, O LORD, have done as it pleased You.” | 14So they cried out to the LORD, "Oh, please, LORD, don't let us die on account of this man! Don't hold us guilty of shedding innocent blood. After all, you, LORD, have done just as you pleased." |
| 15So they picked up Jonah and threw him into the sea, and the sea ceased from its raging. | 15So they picked Jonah up and threw him into the sea, and the sea stopped raging. |
| 16Then the men feared the LORD exceedingly, and offered a sacrifice to the LORD and took vows. | 16The men feared the LORD greatly, and earnestly vowed to offer lavish sacrifices to the Lord. |
| 17Now the LORD had prepared a great fish to swallow Jonah. And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights. | 17The LORD sent a huge fish to swallow Jonah, and Jonah was in the stomach of the fish three days and three nights. |
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